This is a survey of ancient Greek history from the Bronze Age to the death of Socrates in 399 BCE. Along with studying the most important events and personalities, we will consider broader issues such as political and cultural values and methods of historical interpretation.

From the lesson

The Peloponnesian War I

For Module 6, we turn first to Thucydides the Athenian. He “wrote the war” that broke out between the Athenians and the Spartans and their allies and eventually affected almost all the Greek poleis. Thucydides’ method is very different from that of Herodotus. His style seems aloof, austere, dispassionate and scientific, and his narrative is much more tightly focused on the progress of the war. Nonetheless, he also has his own particular modes of interpretation that convey some powerful images and opinions. We will also look at the comic genius Aristophanes, whose Acharnians is a trenchant fantasy about an ordinary Athenian who is sick of the war and makes a private peace with Sparta. The Module concludes with Alcibiades, the dazzling rogue who dominated Athenian political life during the later stages of the war. We will also consider the social milieu in which he flourished.